Reach, It's Not As Bad As It Seems
by MontagueCrew
Summary: Mary is starting her Junior year of High School. She hates it, like so many of us do, and is just trying to make it though her last 2 years. This story starts when her seemingly ordinary life begins to take an interesting turn. Rated T-M for, swearing and mature themes. WARNING: This is a studentxteacher-esque read, so if this type of story isn't your cup of tea, don't drink it!


Mary all but fell out of her bed. She had been dreading returning to the agonizing blister of a school all summer. Alas, the time, she knew, must come one day. Unfortunately, that day was today. She had the recurring thought of dropping out of High School, but she desperately wanted to pursue the career path of Filmography, and she would definitely need College courses to get where she wanted to go, and to get to College, you need High School.

She dragged her bare feet across the old carpet that lined her home, its bland color seeming to fit in with her life rather well. She ran her slender fingers along the hanging clothes in her closet, lazily grasping some clothes to wear. Although school had started, the weather was still hotter than the deepest pit of hell, so she snatched up a pair of floral shorts and a button up jean shirt with a peter pan collar and the sleeves cut off, and didn't forget to slap her round rimmed sunglasses on the bridge of her nose as she twirled her truck's keys in her fingers. She entered the dull yellow vehicle and twisted the key, to allow her the gentle roar of the old engine. She patted the wheel as to say, "just make it through today", painting a crooked smile of sympathy for the old car on her lips, she drove off, leaving a heavy trail of smoke behind her.

Once parked in the packed lot, she found that her old space had been saved for her. It was no surprise, last time someone had attempted taking the spot, she slashed their tires. But she knew it wasn't fear that had literally driven them away from the vacant spot. She saw the car of her friend Eren Jaeger right by hers. A smile crept up on Mary's glum face as those thoughts reeled through her mind. She knew that Eren saved that spot for her, and that made her stomach rise, the butterflies reaching her throat, causing a fit of giggles to escape her lips. She let those thoughts leave her as she floated out of the car and into the school.

The first thing she noticed once inside the tall building was the stench. Oh, how she had missed the stench of underclassmen believing that deodorant was something needed in an outside world. Now, "missed" in the sense that she found the repugnant humor of it all sickeningly funny. The second thing was principle Pyxis tormenting every freshmen student that passed him by, which made Mary feel extremely nostalgic. She remembered her first day well. Pyxis got on her back for her shorts being to short, but she retorted that there was no school dress code, her response dripping with a venom that made Pyxis back down almost immediately. He liked her, but he could tell she would cause a bit of contention someday.

The bell rang and Mary walked silently to her first period class, trying to avoid touching and/or talking to anyone around her.

* * *

"Wanna bite?" Eren offered Mary his half eaten sandwich, seeing as she had no lunch in front of her. She stared at it longingly, but shook her head in a thankful refusal. He shrugged and took yet another sloppy bite, earning a disgusted face from Mikasa. "So what classes do you all have next?" Eren offered an interesting topic to the entirety of the junior table.

A few kids had Miss Hanji for Psychology, Miss Petra for Math, and Physical Education taught by Mr. Erwin Smith. Everyone in the group had at least one person to go to their next class with, which was nice. Fortunately, Mary and Eren had the next class together, English with Mr. Levi. No one had had him before this, so it was assumed that he only taught one class a day at this High School, home of the Titans.

They had bounced from topic to topic, laughing with one another, and talking of how incredibly dull the first day of school was. But it seemed like as soon as they had delved into conversation of deep meaning, the bell rang through the halls and ordered the teenagers to leave behind any unfinished scrap of food and toss it aside so they can attend a class they will most likely sleep through.

Eren dumped his Styrofoam tray into the dirty grey trash bin before taking Mary's pale hand in his tan. She wasn't drawn aback at the sudden act of affection. This gesture was that of a kind and casual relationship. Like one would share with a cousin. He smiled at Mary, his aquamarine eyes twinkling as he did so. They barely spoke for the entire amount of time it took them to reach the 500 hall. They stood in front of the wooden doorway and saw a white sheet of paper taped to it. In neat handwriting it read, "Sit anywhere."

They entered the classroom as the first ones to arrive. The lunch room was located one hall down, so it wasn't any surprise to their primal turn up. Scanning the room they only had to nod at one another. The far back right corner of the room was where they would sit. They figured, the farther away you are from the teacher, the better. As they awaited the arrival of the professor, swarms of students filed into the room. They were pleased to recognize a few familiar faces, even if Jean was among one of those faces. Mary didn't mind Jean, in fact she really liked him. But she knew Eren and Jean didn't get along too well, despite this fact, she didn't side with either of them because there were perks to being both of their friends. One of the perks for Jean being, Marco. Marco followed closely behind Jean, who was guiding him to the seats right in front of Mary and Eren.

"Hey Mary." Marco greeted her with a friendly smile before unpacking his belongings. Mary responded in kind and directed her attention to Eren and Jean, who in no less than 3 seconds decided it a fantastic idea to start bickering. "Guys calm down, at least start off on the right foot, okay?" Marco stood between the 2 walking testosterone's and was able to calm them down while maintaining his own sense of patience.

"They're like an old married couple." Mary whispered into Marco's ear. He chuckled quietly and raised his large brown eyes to meet with her hazel ones. He nodded in a confirmation and continued to stare at her. "That's all I have to say." She stated matter of factually, figuring he continued to stare because he was expecting something more from the interaction. Another laugh escaped his lips, and he brought a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it gently.

"Yeah, I know It's just-" He trailed off, a blush covering his freckled cheeks. "You look good." He finally said. Mary smiled at him and rested her hand on his, giving it a tight squeeze before releasing immediately and thanked him.

The second bell sounded in the room just as Mr. Levi strolled through the doorway. He had cold eyes that were hidden beneath squared glasses, which he swiped off the bridge of his pointed nose, swiftly. He stared at the whole class, a look of disgust seeming to surface in his features. It was no question as to why he was making the face. They doodled all over the clean desks, passed notes to one another, chatted loudly amongst themselves. Some were even face down on the desks, drooling all over their books and belongings. He snickered and gave a loud whistle, using two educated fingers to do so. Most collected themselves and sat with impeccable posture, the others gave their attention, but slouched and/or rested a chin on the wrist of their hand.

"My name Mr. Levi, Professor, Sir or Mr. L will do fine as well." He introduced himself and set both his coffee and his glasses on his desk. "I would like to start by saying, you are my only _high school_ class. I teach Literature and a Creative Writing course to College students before and after _this _class, so as you can tell it's a bit of an inconvenience." He stated coldly, practically glaring at every student present in the class. "This means, my mood will not be of a very happy nature, which also means, I won't be an easy teacher. I'm strict and quite frankly, I'm not nice." He said quickly, whilst handling a clipboard that appeared to have two sheets of paper trapped underneath its metal teeth.

"Now, time for Roll call." He cleared his throat and slipped his glasses on once again. Mary readied herself, she knew she'd be the first. She always was, but it was so nerve racking to have such an intense professor call her name. You'd think after all these years she would have adapted to it. "Mary Akana." He called out clearly, not peeling his eyes from his paper when he did. She raised her hand and announced her presence, he glanced up at her for a moment and observed her as she exhaled lightly in relief, right before she picked up her pencil and began to scribble on a piece of paper. He continued in the roll call and checked off every student as 'here'.

"Now, I'd like you all too neatly pass forward your summer reading packets. We'll be turning the book in on Friday, so don't forget." He announced sitting down on the rotating chair as students collected one another's packets.

Mary was only half paying attention to anything her professor was talking about, she was occupied, passing notes with Eren. Nothing particularly noteworthy, but it seemed to her like the most extraordinary event to have ever occurred.

_What do you think of Mr. Levi? -Mary_

_Guys a total ass I can tell -Eren_

_I mean he's also got a really nice ass too_

That comment scored Mary a fake gag from Eren. She rolled her eyes and passed her packet forwards to Marco, who gave her a cheerful smile, and a blush that dusted over his spotted cheeks.

_First of all, he's like 30 and secondly, no he doesn't_

_Did you even look at it?_

_No. And I don't plan on checking out my 30 year old man teacher's ass_

_Do it_

_No, he's like a dwarf_

_Hey, Kili was a dwarf and he's the hottest piece of dick I've ever seen_

Just as Eren got the slip of paper between his fingers and began to read her message, a loud cough interrupted whatever thoughts were spiraling in his head. Eren's aquamarine orbs met Mr. Levi's steely glare that felt like daggers. Eren tensed up and covered up the sheet of paper with his elbows as Mr. Levi made his way towards the pair of juniors. Mary felt a heavy blood rush swell over her face, recalling all she had said about Mr. Levi. She prayed he wouldn't read it.

He extended two fingers towards Eren, who hung his head and hesitantly lifted the paper in the air. Levi took it between his pre-extended fingers and thumb. Eren shot a sparing glance towards Mary, who was sinking in her chair by the second. Levi noticed where Eren's eyes traveled and he followed them. Now staring at Mary, her fingers covering her face, not wanting to see firsthand the embarrassing events unfold. More curious than angered, he flipped the paper over and began to read it. His blank expression remained unchanged as he finished it off and stuffed it into his pocket.

"I'd like to see you both after class." He said simply, then returned to his desk. Mary and Eren eyed one another nervously. They were shaken to the core. Starting off on the wrong foot with _this_ teacher was the worst thing imaginable. But, Mary knew _she_ would be in the most trouble. They sat in the class for the rest of the period twiddling their thumbs and desperately hoping he'd forget about the whole thing.

When the bell finally rang, Mary could practically feel her heart beating within her skull, she was genuinely terrified of the punishment that would ensue. Eren and Mary attempted to sneak out, hiding behind Marco as he walked out the door, but of course, the plan was to no avail, and Levi stealthily grabbed their shoulders. Realizing Mary's grip on his hand had ceased to exist, Marco turned to them with a look of sympathy in his eyes and a small wave of his right hand. Levi closed the door and sat on the edge of his desk, ordering them to sit in the front row, right where he could see them. They shifted to the seats, they were all obviously uncomfortable with the situation that was about to be discussed, so Levi decided it best just to spit it out.

"That note was very inappropriate." Levi said sternly, his words hovering over them like the grey clouds in the sky. Levi waited expectantly and rather impatiently. Although he said nothing, his foot was wiggling so much that he could be a tap dancer. They averted his gaze, keeping their eyes glued to the polished floor. Finally he scoffed and slapped the palms of his hands against the desk of the female student, startling her. Eren stood up defensively, his hands twisting into fists. Upon noticing the boys altogether over reaction, Levi gave an irritated snicker and with a roll of his eyes returned to his side of the desk. "I'll give you cleaning duty for the rest of the week, but if you two pull _anything_ like that again, you can be expecting a detention." Levi stated, as he shuffled the packets in a neat stack and placed them delicately in the second cupboard of his ebony desk.

Mary and Eren exhaled in disbelief, goofy smiles painted upon both of their faces as they pulled each other into an embrace. Levi looked up at them through his glasses as they thanked him, they seemed to be more at ease in his presence because of his "merciful" action. It was almost sickening. He informed them that they were to come to his class during lunch every day and organize everything, along with wiping down the desks and windows. He then collected his messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder as he strode to the door. He opened it up and gestured them out, to which they happily complied, he followed behind them closely and began to make his way to the parking lot, when he felt a gentle tug at his sleeve.

Although surprised, he managed to maintain his habitual stoic expression. He wasn't very alarmed that it was the very girl he had just been walking behind. She was flustered still, her hazel eyes avoided his gaze, and she played with her fingers as she stammered through the first few letters of her words. She was almost too embarrassed to be anywhere near him.

"Take your time, it's not like I have a class to drive to." Levi droned his sarcastic tone heavily through his sentence as he checked his silver wristwatch. Mary widened her eyes, and took a deep breath before exhaling.

"I just wanted to apologize for the uh-" She paused rubbing the back of her neck with her dry hands, trying to find the words to say. "_Comments _I had made in the note." She looked happy to have gotten it off her chest. After a few moments in a dreadful silence, she turned around. She could see his unforgiving eyes, and she knew how to take a hint. As she made her way back to a dumbfounded looking Eren, she heard a soft voice behind her.

"Just keep a low profile in my class for a while." She stopped in her tracks, her breath catching itself in her throat. The pitter patter of his footsteps started up, and seemed to fizzle away the more clicks heard, and when they were finally inaudible, Mary ran to Eren's chest, gripping him as tight as she could, holding onto his collar, like one would the end of their life.


End file.
